Dynamic phrase expansion of language input

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure generally relates to dynamic phrase expansion for language input. In one example process, a user input comprising text of a first symbolic system is received. The process determines, based on the text, a plurality of sets of one or more candidate words of a second symbolic system. The process determines, based on at least a portion of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, a plurality of expanded candidate phrases. Each expanded candidate phrase comprises at least one word of a respective set of one or more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words and one or more predicted words based on the at least one word of the respective set of one or more candidate words. One or more expanded candidate phrases of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases are displayed for user selection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Ser. No.62/348,664, filed on Jun. 10, 2016, entitled DYNAMIC PHRASE EXPANSION OFLANGUAGE INPUT, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to language input, and morespecifically to techniques for dynamic phrase expansion of languageinput.

BACKGROUND

For many languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, text can bephonetically entered with one symbolic system and converted for displayin a second symbolic system. For example, Pinyin is a phonetic systemfor transcribing Mandarin Chinese using the Roman alphabet. In a Pinyintransliteration, the phonetic pronunciations of Chinese characters canbe mapped to syllables composed of Roman letters. Pinyin is commonlyused to input Chinese text into a computer via a conversion engine. Fora given Pinyin input, the conversion engine outputs one or more likelycandidate Chinese words or phrases corresponding to the Pinyin input.However, entering Chinese text using Pinyin can be slow and inefficient.In particular, the user needs to input the corresponding Pinyin text foreach desired word and then select the desired corresponding candidateChinese words or phrases presented by the conversion engine. Frequently,the desired candidate Chinese word or phrase is not the first candidatepresented by the conversion engine and thus the user needs to provideadditional input and expend additional time to obtain the desiredcandidate Chinese word(s). This can cause frustration and negativelyimpact user experience.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Systems and processes for dynamic phrase expansion of language input areprovided. In one example process, a user input comprising text of afirst symbolic system is received. The text represents a phoneticpronunciation of at least part of a word of a language. The processdetermines, based on the text, a plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words of a second symbolic system of the language. Eachcandidate word in each set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words corresponds to at leasta portion of the text. The process determines, based on at least aportion of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, aplurality of expanded candidate phrases. Each expanded candidate phraseof the plurality of expanded candidate phrases comprises at least oneword of a respective set of one or more candidate words of the pluralityof sets of one or more candidate words and one or more predicted wordsbased on the at least one word of the respective set of one or morecandidate words. The plurality of expanded candidate phrases are rankedbased on a plurality of likelihood scores corresponding to the pluralityof expanded candidate phrases. Based on the ranking, one or moreexpanded candidate phrases of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases are displayed for user selection.

Executable instructions for performing these functions are, optionally,included in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or othercomputer program product configured for execution by one or moreprocessors. Executable instructions for performing these functions are,optionally, included in a transitory computer-readable storage medium orother computer program product configured for execution by one or moreprocessors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For a better understanding of the various described embodiments,reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, inconjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numeralsrefer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction devicewith a touch-sensitive display in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screenin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunctiondevice with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the displayin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrates a personal electronic device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a language input modulein accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-C illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process for dynamicphrase expansion of language input in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates multiple sets of one or more candidate Chinese wordsconverted from a Chinese Pinyin text input in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 9A-C illustrate expanded Chinese phrases generated by performingdynamic phrase expansion in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 10A-B illustrate an electronic device implementing aspects ofdynamic phrase expansion of language input in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a functional block diagram of an exemplaryelectronic device, in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following description sets forth exemplary methods, parameters, andthe like. It should be recognized, however, that such description is notintended as a limitation on the scope of the present disclosure but isinstead provided as a description of exemplary embodiments.

The present disclosure relates to systems and processes for dynamicphrase expansion of language input. As described herein, phraseexpansion can be implemented to improve the accuracy and efficiency ofconverting from one symbolic system to another symbolic system of alanguage. In an exemplary process, a user input comprising text of afirst symbolic system is received. The text represents a phoneticpronunciation of at least part of a word of a language. The processdetermines, based on the text, a plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words of a second symbolic system of the language. Eachcandidate word in each set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words corresponds to at leasta portion of the text. The process determines, based on at least aportion of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, aplurality of expanded candidate phrases. Each expanded candidate phraseof the plurality of expanded candidate phrases comprises at least oneword of a respective set of one or more candidate words of the pluralityof sets of one or more candidate words and one or more predicted wordsbased on the at least one word of the respective set of one or morecandidate words. The plurality of expanded candidate phrases are rankedbased on a plurality of likelihood scores corresponding to the pluralityof expanded candidate phrases. Based on the ranking, one or moreexpanded candidate phrases of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases are displayed for user selection. Determining the expandedcandidate phrases can improve the accuracy of converting from the firstsymbolic system to the second symbolic system. Additionally, theexpanded candidate phrases enable predicted words that are not reflectedin the user input to be provided. This can enable text input of alanguage requiring conversion from one symbolic system to anothersymbolic system (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, etc.) to be performed moreaccurately and efficiently.

Although the following description uses terms “first,” “second,” etc. todescribe various elements, these elements should not be limited by theterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element fromanother. For example, a first input could be termed a second input, and,similarly, a second input could be termed a first input, withoutdeparting from the scope of the various described embodiments. The firstinput and the second input are both inputs, but they may not be the sameinput.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedembodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in thedescription of the various described embodiments and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

The term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “inresponse to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on thecontext. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a statedcondition or event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context.

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/ormusic player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunctiondevices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad®devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronicdevices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitivesurfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touchpads), are,optionally, used. It should also be understood that, in someembodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but isa desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screendisplay and/or a touchpad).

In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the electronic device optionally includes oneor more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physicalkeyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick.

The device typically supports a variety of applications, such as one ormore of the following: a drawing application, a presentationapplication, a word processing application, a website creationapplication, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, agaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencingapplication, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, aworkout support application, a photo management application, a digitalcamera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that are executed on the device optionally useat least one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the deviceare, optionally, adjusted and/or varied from one application to the nextand/or within a respective application. In this way, a common physicalarchitecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the deviceoptionally supports the variety of applications with user interfacesthat are intuitive and transparent to the user.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices withtouch-sensitive displays. FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustratingportable multifunction device 100 with touch-sensitive display system112 in accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 112 issometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience and is sometimes knownas or called a “touch-sensitive display system.” Device 100 includesmemory 102 (which optionally includes one or more computer-readablestorage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units(CPUs) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem 106,other input control devices 116, and external port 124. Device 100optionally includes one or more optical sensors 164. Device 100optionally includes one or more contact intensity sensors 165 fordetecting intensity of contacts on device 100 (e.g., a touch-sensitivesurface such as touch-sensitive display system 112 of device 100).Device 100 optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 167for generating tactile outputs on device 100 (e.g., generating tactileoutputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive displaysystem 112 of device 100 or touchpad 355 of device 300). Thesecomponents optionally communicate over one or more communication busesor signal lines 103.

As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of acontact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure(force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on thetouch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force orpressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of acontact has a range of values that includes at least four distinctvalues and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., atleast 256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (ormeasured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinationsof sensors. For example, one or more force sensors underneath oradjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measureforce at various points on the touch-sensitive surface. In someimplementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors arecombined (e.g., a weighted average) to determine an estimated force of acontact. Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally,used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitivesurface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on thetouch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of thetouch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto,and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to thecontact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute forthe force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Insome implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force orpressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity thresholdhas been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in unitscorresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations,the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are convertedto an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressureis used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded(e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in unitsof pressure). Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a userinput allows for user access to additional device functionality that mayotherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device withlimited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on atouch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via atouch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or aphysical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output”refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previousposition of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., atouch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component(e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relativeto a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user withthe user's sense of touch. For example, in situations where the deviceor the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a userthat is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of auser's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacementwill be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding toa perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or thecomponent of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitivesurface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally,interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physicalactuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensationsuch as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement ofa physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surfacethat is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements. Asanother example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally,interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitivesurface, even when there is no change in smoothness of thetouch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a userwill be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user,there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a largemajority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described ascorresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “upclick,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, thegenerated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of thedevice or a component thereof that will generate the described sensoryperception for a typical (or average) user.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 100 optionally has moreor fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or morecomponents, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 1A areimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware andsoftware, including one or more signal processing and/orapplication-specific integrated circuits.

Memory 102 optionally includes high-speed random access memory andoptionally also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or moremagnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid-state memory devices. Memory controller 122optionally controls access to memory 102 by other components of device100.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or moreprocessors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions fordevice 100 and to process data. In some embodiments, peripheralsinterface 118, CPU 120, and memory controller 122 are, optionally,implemented on a single chip, such as chip 104. In some otherembodiments, they are, optionally, implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 optionally includes well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 108 optionally communicates with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF circuitry 108optionally includes well-known circuitry for detecting near fieldcommunication (NFC) fields, such as by a short-range communicationradio. The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies, including but notlimited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO),HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), nearfield communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n,and/or IEEE 802.11ac), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, aprotocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP)and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensiblemessaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol forInstant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), InstantMessaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service(SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, includingcommunication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of thisdocument.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data is, optionally,retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108by peripherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110also includes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jackprovides an interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audioinput/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headsetwith both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input(e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, suchas touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripheralsinterface 118. I/O subsystem 106 optionally includes display controller156, optical sensor controller 158, intensity sensor controller 159,haptic feedback controller 161, and one or more input controllers 160for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers160 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices116. The other input control devices 116 optionally include physicalbuttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, sliderswitches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternateembodiments, input controller(s) 160 are, optionally, coupled to any (ornone) of the following: a keyboard, an infrared port, a USB port, and apointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG.2) optionally include an up/down button for volume control of speaker111 and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons optionally include apush button (e.g., 206, FIG. 2).

A quick press of the push button optionally disengages a lock of touchscreen 112 or optionally begins a process that uses gestures on thetouch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device by PerformingGestures on an Unlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, U.S. Pat. No.7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Alonger press of the push button (e.g., 206) optionally turns power todevice 100 on or off. The functionality of one or more of the buttonsare, optionally, user-customizable. Touch screen 112 is used toimplement virtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output optionallyincludes graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof(collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all ofthe visual output optionally corresponds to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with anyassociated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen112 and convert the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages,or images) that are displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplaryembodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 112 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 112 optionally uses LCD (liquid crystal display)technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED(light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologiesare used in other embodiments. Touch screen 112 and display controller156 optionally detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof usingany of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or laterdeveloped, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared,and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximitysensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points ofcontact with touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, projectedmutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone® and iPod Touch® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 is,optionally, analogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpads describedin the following U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat.No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932(Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However,touch screen 112 displays visual output from device 100, whereastouch-sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 isdescribed in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2,2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “MultipointTouchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30,2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures ForTouch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User InterfacesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On ATouch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A TouchScreen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen VirtualKeyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. Allof these applications are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

Touch screen 112 optionally has a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi.In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user optionally makes contact with touchscreen 112 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, afinger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface isdesigned to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures,which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger areaof contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, thedevice translates the rough finger-based input into a precisepointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired bythe user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100optionally includes a touchpad (not shown) for activating ordeactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad isa touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, doesnot display visual output. The touchpad is, optionally, atouch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen 112 or anextension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 162 optionally includes a power managementsystem, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current(AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a powerconverter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emittingdiode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more optical sensors 164.FIG. 1A shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158in I/O subsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 optionally includescharge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lenses, and converts thelight to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module143 (also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 optionallycaptures still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensoris located on the back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112on the front of the device so that the touch screen display is enabledfor use as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. Insome embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of thedevice so that the user's image is, optionally, obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conferenceparticipants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, theposition of optical sensor 164 can be changed by the user (e.g., byrotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a singleoptical sensor 164 is used along with the touch screen display for bothvideo conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more contact intensitysensors 165. FIG. 1A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled tointensity sensor controller 159 in I/O subsystem 106. Contact intensitysensor 165 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges,capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric forcesensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, orother intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (orpressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensitysensor 165 receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressureinformation or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocatedwith, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitivedisplay system 112). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensitysensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch screendisplay 112, which is located on the front of device 100.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more proximity sensors 166.FIG. 1A shows proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, proximity sensor 166 is, optionally, coupled to inputcontroller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. Proximity sensor 166 optionallyperforms as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839,“Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “ProximityDetector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient LightSensor To Augment Proximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862,“Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In PortableDevices”; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For AutomaticConfiguration Of Peripherals,” which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensorturns off and disables touch screen 112 when the multifunction device isplaced near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more tactile outputgenerators 167. FIG. 1A shows a tactile output generator coupled tohaptic feedback controller 161 in I/O subsystem 106. Tactile outputgenerator 167 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devicessuch as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanicaldevices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor,solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostaticactuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., acomponent that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on thedevice). Contact intensity sensor 165 receives tactile feedbackgeneration instructions from haptic feedback module 133 and generatestactile outputs on device 100 that are capable of being sensed by a userof device 100. In some embodiments, at least one tactile outputgenerator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112) and, optionally, generates atactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g.,in/out of a surface of device 100) or laterally (e.g., back and forth inthe same plane as a surface of device 100). In some embodiments, atleast one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back ofdevice 100, opposite touch screen display 112, which is located on thefront of device 100.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more accelerometers 168. FIG.1A shows accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 is, optionally, coupled to an inputcontroller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. Accelerometer 168 optionallyperforms as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050190059,“Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable ElectronicDevices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060017692, “Methods AndApparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,”both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Insome embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen displayin a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of datareceived from the one or more accelerometers. Device 100 optionallyincludes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 168, a magnetometer (notshown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver(not shown) for obtaining information concerning the location andorientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102include operating system 126, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or setof instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments, memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3)stores device/global internal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 3.Device/global internal state 157 includes one or more of: activeapplication state, indicating which applications, if any, are currentlyactive; display state, indicating what applications, views or otherinformation occupy various regions of touch screen display 112; sensorstate, including information obtained from the device's various sensorsand input control devices 116; and location information concerning thedevice's location and/or attitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 124 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/orexternal port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with, the30-pin connector used on iPod® (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects contact with touch screen112 (in conjunction with display controller 156) and othertouch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).Contact/motion module 130 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-downevent), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force orpressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of thecontact), determining if there is movement of the contact and trackingthe movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one ormore finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).Contact/motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch-sensitivesurface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which isrepresented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determiningspeed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or anacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point ofcontact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156 detect contact on atouchpad.

In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 uses a set of one or moreintensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has beenperformed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” onan icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensitythresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g.,the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholdsof particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changingthe physical hardware of device 100). For example, a mouse “click”threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of alarge range of predefined threshold values without changing the trackpador touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations,a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjustingone or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjustingindividual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality ofintensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity”parameter).

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities ofdetected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected bydetecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a fingertap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detectinga finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially thesame position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of anicon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on thetouch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followedby detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequentlyfollowed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display,including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness,transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual property) ofgraphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics”includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, withoutlimitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objectsincluding soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned acorresponding code. Graphics module 132 receives, from applicationsetc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with,if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and thengenerates screen image data to output to display controller 156.

Haptic feedback module 133 includes various software components forgenerating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 167 toproduce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 100 inresponse to user interactions with device 100.

Text input module 134, which is, optionally, a component of graphicsmodule 132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in variousapplications (e.g., contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, andany other application that needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 foruse in location-based dialing; to camera 143 as picture/video metadata;and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 optionally include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   Telephone module 138;    -   Video conference module 139;    -   E-mail client module 140;    -   Instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   Workout support module 142;    -   Camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   Image management module 144;    -   Video player module;    -   Music player module;    -   Browser module 147;    -   Calendar module 148;    -   Widget modules 149, which optionally include one or more of:        weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget        149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and        other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created        widgets 149-6;    -   Widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   Search module 151;    -   Video and music player module 152, which merges video player        module and music player module;    -   Notes module 153;    -   Map module 154; and/or    -   Online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that are, optionally, stored inmemory 102 include other word processing applications, other imageediting applications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, contacts module 137 are, optionally, used to manage an address bookor contact list (e.g., stored in application internal state 192 ofcontacts module 137 in memory 102 or memory 370), including: addingname(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from the address book;associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physicaladdress(es) or other information with a name; associating an image witha name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephone numbers ore-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communications bytelephone 138, video conference module 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; andso forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact/motionmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephonemodule 138 are optionally, used to enter a sequence of characterscorresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephonenumbers in contacts module 137, modify a telephone number that has beenentered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation, anddisconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As notedabove, the wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact/motion module 130, graphicsmodule 132, text input module 134, contacts module 137, and telephonemodule 138, video conference module 139 includes executable instructionsto initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a userand one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executableinstructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response touser instructions. In conjunction with image management module 144,e-mail client module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mailswith still or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages, and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages optionally include graphics, photos, audio files, videofiles and/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/or anEnhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging”refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMSor MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP,SIMPLE, or IMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music playermodule, workout support module 142 includes executable instructions tocreate workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burninggoals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receiveworkout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; selectand play music for a workout; and display, store, and transmit workoutdata.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact/motion module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134,and camera module 143, image management module 144 includes executableinstructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate,label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), andstore still and/or video images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147,calendar module 148 includes executable instructions to create, display,modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g.,calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 aremini-applications that are, optionally, downloaded and used by a user(e.g., weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or createdby the user (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, awidget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS(Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In someembodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) fileand a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150are, optionally, used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning auser-specified portion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, search module 151 includes executable instructions to search fortext, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 thatmatch one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specifiedsearch terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, video and musicplayer module 152 includes executable instructions that allow the userto download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g.,on touch screen 112 or on an external, connected display via externalport 124). In some embodiments, device 100 optionally includes thefunctionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, notes module 153 includes executable instructions to create andmanage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154are, optionally, used to receive, display, modify, and store maps anddata associated with maps (e.g., driving directions, data on stores andother points of interest at or near a particular location, and otherlocation-based data) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail clientmodule 140, and browser module 147, online video module 155 includesinstructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., bystreaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or onan external, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mailwith a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage onlinevideos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments,instant messaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, isused to send a link to a particular online video. Additional descriptionof the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “PortableMultifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for PlayingOnline Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Each of the above-identified modules and applications corresponds to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules,and thus various subsets of these modules are, optionally, combined orotherwise rearranged in various embodiments. For example, video playermodule is, optionally, combined with music player module into a singlemodule (e.g., video and music player module 152, FIG. 1A). In someembodiments, memory 102 optionally stores a subset of the modules anddata structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 102 optionallystores additional modules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 100 is, optionally, reduced.

The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through atouch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation betweenuser interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by theuser, navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that is displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, a “menubutton” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, themenu button is a physical push button or other physical input controldevice instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g., inoperating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., any ofthe aforementioned applications 137-151, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines theapplication 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes eventmonitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments,application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitivedisplay 112 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter170 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, andapplication internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determineapplication views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166,accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/Osubsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripherals interface 118 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more viewswhen touch-sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected optionally correspond to programmatic levelswithin a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example,the lowest level view in which a touch is detected is, optionally,called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as properinputs are, optionally, determined based, at least in part, on the hitview of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related tosub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multipleviews organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which shouldhandle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowestlevel view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (e.g., the firstsub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potentialevent). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determinationmodule 172, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related tothe same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hitview.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 173 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver 182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, objectupdater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from eventsorter 170. Event handler 190 optionally utilizes or calls data updater176, object updater 177, or GUI updater 178 to update the applicationinternal state 192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views191 include one or more respective event handlers 190. Also, in someembodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, andGUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g.,event data 179) from event sorter 170 and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 andevent comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event deliveryinstructions 188 (which optionally include sub-event deliveryinstructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the eventinformation optionally also includes speed and direction of thesub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the devicefrom one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to alandscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event informationincludes corresponding information about the current orientation (alsocalled device attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes eventdefinitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event (187) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example,event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event (187) alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, therespective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another. Insome embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties, flags,and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varyinglevels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates eventhandler 190 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used inapplication 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates andupdates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater177 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to dataupdater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In someembodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 orapplication view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 withinput devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. Forexample, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinatedwith single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movementssuch as taps, drags, scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs;movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements;biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilizedas inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to berecognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screenoptionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200.In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabledto select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on thegraphics, for example, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scalein the figure) or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one ormore swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward),and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 100. In someimplementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphicdoes not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweepsover an application icon optionally does not select the correspondingapplication when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 100 optionally also include one or more physical buttons, such as“home” or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button 204 is,optionally, used to navigate to any application 136 in a set ofapplications that are, optionally, executed on device 100.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as asoft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen 112.

In some embodiments, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 208, subscriber identity module(SIM) card slot 210, headset jack 212, and docking/charging externalport 124. Push button 206 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/offon the device by depressing the button and holding the button in thedepressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device bydepressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also acceptsverbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions throughmicrophone 113. Device 100 also, optionally, includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 165 for detecting intensity of contacts ontouch screen 112 and/or one or more tactile output generators 167 forgenerating tactile outputs for a user of device 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 310, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communicationbuses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) thatinterconnects and controls communications between system components.Device 300 includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display340, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 alsooptionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)350 and touchpad 355, tactile output generator 357 for generatingtactile outputs on device 300 (e.g., similar to tactile outputgenerator(s) 167 described above with reference to FIG. 1A), sensors 359(e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contactintensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 165 describedabove with reference to FIG. 1A). Memory 370 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solidstate memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 370 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from CPU(s) 310. In some embodiments, memory 370 storesprograms, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs,modules, and data structures stored in memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100 (FIG. 1A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore,memory 370 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and datastructures not present in memory 102 of portable multifunction device100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 optionally stores drawingmodule 380, presentation module 382, word processing module 384, websitecreation module 386, disk authoring module 388, and/or spreadsheetmodule 390, while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG.1A) optionally does not store these modules.

Each of the above-identified elements in FIG. 3 is, optionally, storedin one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of theabove-identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions forperforming a function described above. The above-identified modules orprograms (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules are, optionally, combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identifiedabove. Furthermore, memory 370 optionally stores additional modules anddata structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces thatare, optionally, implemented on, for example, portable multifunctiondevice 100.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces are, optionally, implementedon device 300. In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s),        such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;    -   Time 404;    -   Bluetooth indicator 405;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Icon 416 for telephone module 138, labeled “Phone,” which            optionally includes an indicator 414 of the number of missed            calls or voicemail messages;        -   Icon 418 for e-mail client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which            optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread            e-mails;        -   Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser;” and        -   Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, also            referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152,            labeled “iPod;” and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Messages;”        -   Icon 426 for calendar module 148, labeled “Calendar;”        -   Icon 428 for image management module 144, labeled “Photos;”        -   Icon 430 for camera module 143, labeled “Camera;”        -   Icon 432 for online video module 155, labeled “Online            Video;”        -   Icon 434 for stocks widget 149-2, labeled “Stocks;”        -   Icon 436 for map module 154, labeled “Maps;”        -   Icon 438 for weather widget 149-1, labeled “Weather;”        -   Icon 440 for alarm clock widget 149-4, labeled “Clock;”        -   Icon 442 for workout support module 142, labeled “Workout            Support;”        -   Icon 444 for notes module 153, labeled “Notes;” and        -   Icon 446 for a settings application or module, labeled            “Settings,” which provides access to settings for device 100            and its various applications 136.

It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG. 4A aremerely exemplary. For example, icon 422 for video and music playermodule 152 are labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Other labels are,optionally, used for various application icons. In some embodiments, alabel for a respective application icon includes a name of anapplication corresponding to the respective application icon. In someembodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinct froma name of an application corresponding to the particular applicationicon.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g.,device 300, FIG. 3) with a touch-sensitive surface 451 (e.g., a tabletor touchpad 355, FIG. 3) that is separate from the display 450 (e.g.,touch screen display 112). Device 300 also, optionally, includes one ormore contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 359) fordetecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 451 and/orone or more tactile output generators 357 for generating tactile outputsfor a user of device 300.

Although some of the examples that follow will be given with referenceto inputs on touch screen display 112 (where the touch-sensitive surfaceand the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detectsinputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,as shown in FIG. 4B. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface(e.g., 451 in FIG. 4B) has a primary axis (e.g., 452 in FIG. 4B) thatcorresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 453 in FIG. 4B) on the display(e.g., 450). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detectscontacts (e.g., 460 and 462 in FIG. 4B) with the touch-sensitive surface451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display(e.g., in FIG. 4B, 460 corresponds to 468 and 462 corresponds to 470).In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 460 and 462, and movementsthereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,451 in FIG. 4B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interfaceon the display (e.g., 450 in FIG. 4B) of the multifunction device whenthe touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should beunderstood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other userinterfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures,finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in someembodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with inputfrom another input device (e.g., a mouse-based input or stylus input).For example, a swipe gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click(e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor alongthe path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). Asanother example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouseclick while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture(e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detectthe contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneouslydetected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are,optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are,optionally, used simultaneously.

FIG. 5A illustrates exemplary personal electronic device 500. Device 500includes body 502. In some embodiments, device 500 can include some orall of the features described with respect to devices 100 and 300 (e.g.,FIGS. 1A-4B). In some embodiments, device 500 has touch-sensitivedisplay screen 504, hereafter touch screen 504. Alternatively, or inaddition to touch screen 504, device 500 has a display and atouch-sensitive surface. As with devices 100 and 300, in someembodiments, touch screen 504 (or the touch-sensitive surface)optionally includes one or more intensity sensors for detectingintensity of contacts (e.g., touches) being applied. The one or moreintensity sensors of touch screen 504 (or the touch-sensitive surface)can provide output data that represents the intensity of touches. Theuser interface of device 500 can respond to touches based on theirintensity, meaning that touches of different intensities can invokedifferent user interface operations on device 500.

Exemplary techniques for detecting and processing touch intensity arefound, for example, in related applications: International PatentApplication Serial No. PCT/US2013/040061, titled “Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Displaying User Interface ObjectsCorresponding to an Application,” filed May 8, 2013, published as WIPOPublication No. WO/2013/169849, and International Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US2013/069483, titled “Device, Method, and Graphical UserInterface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display OutputRelationships,” filed Nov. 11, 2013, published as WIPO Publication No.WO/2014/105276, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety.

In some embodiments, device 500 has one or more input mechanisms 506 and508. Input mechanisms 506 and 508, if included, can be physical.Examples of physical input mechanisms include push buttons and rotatablemechanisms. In some embodiments, device 500 has one or more attachmentmechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms, if included, can permitattachment of device 500 with, for example, hats, eyewear, earrings,necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watch straps, chains, trousers,belts, shoes, purses, backpacks, and so forth. These attachmentmechanisms permit device 500 to be worn by a user.

FIG. 5B depicts exemplary personal electronic device 500. In someembodiments, device 500 can include some or all of the componentsdescribed with respect to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 3. Device 500 has bus 512that operatively couples I/O section 514 with one or more computerprocessors 516 and memory 518. I/O section 514 can be connected todisplay 504, which can have touch-sensitive component 522 and,optionally, intensity sensor 524 (e.g., contact intensity sensor). Inaddition, I/O section 514 can be connected with communication unit 530for receiving application and operating system data, using Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), cellular, and/or otherwireless communication techniques. Device 500 can include inputmechanisms 506 and/or 508. Input mechanism 508 is, optionally, a button,in some examples.

Input mechanism 508 is, optionally, a microphone, in some examples.Personal electronic device 500 optionally includes various sensors, suchas GPS sensor 532, accelerometer 534, directional sensor 540 (e.g.,compass), gyroscope 536, motion sensor 538, and/or a combinationthereof, all of which can be operatively connected to I/O section 514.

Memory 518 of personal electronic device 500 can include one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage mediums, for storingcomputer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or morecomputer processors 516, for example, can cause the computer processorsto perform the techniques described below, including the processesdescribed below. Personal electronic device 500 is not limited to thecomponents and configuration of FIG. 5B, but can include other oradditional components in multiple configurations.

As used here, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactivegraphical user interface object that is, optionally, displayed on thedisplay screen of devices 100, 300, and/or 500 (FIGS. 1, 3, and 5). Forexample, an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., hyperlink)each optionally constitute an affordance.

As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input elementthat indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user isinteracting. In some implementations that include a cursor or otherlocation marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector” so that when aninput (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touchpad 355 in FIG. 3 or touch-sensitive surface 451 in FIG. 4B)while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., abutton, window, slider, or other user interface element), the particularuser interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detectedinput. In some implementations that include a touch screen display(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112 in FIG. 1A or touch screen 112in FIG. 4A) that enables direct interaction with user interface elementson the touch screen display, a detected contact on the touch screen actsas a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by thecontact) is detected on the touch screen display at a location of aparticular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, orother user interface element), the particular user interface element isadjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations,focus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region ofthe user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor ormovement of a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tabkey or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); inthese implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance withmovement of focus between different regions of the user interface.Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, thefocus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on atouch screen display) that is controlled by the user so as tocommunicate the user's intended interaction with the user interface(e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interfacewith which the user is intending to interact). For example, the locationof a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact, or a selection box) overa respective button while a press input is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicatethat the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposedto other user interface elements shown on a display of the device).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristicintensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact basedon one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. Thecharacteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number ofintensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during apredetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting thecontact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or afterdetecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an endof the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity ofthe contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity ofthe contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionally,based on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of thecontact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an averagevalue of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value ofthe intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of theintensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of theintensities of the contact, or the like. In some embodiments, theduration of the contact is used in determining the characteristicintensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of theintensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensitythresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by auser. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholdsoptionally includes a first intensity threshold and a second intensitythreshold. In this example, a contact with a characteristic intensitythat does not exceed the first threshold results in a first operation, acontact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the first intensitythreshold and does not exceed the second intensity threshold results ina second operation, and a contact with a characteristic intensity thatexceeds the second threshold results in a third operation. In someembodiments, a comparison between the characteristic intensity and oneor more thresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one ormore operations (e.g., whether to perform a respective operation orforgo performing the respective operation), rather than being used todetermine whether to perform a first operation or a second operation.

In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposesof determining a characteristic intensity. For example, atouch-sensitive surface optionally receives a continuous swipe contacttransitioning from a start location and reaching an end location, atwhich point the intensity of the contact increases. In this example, thecharacteristic intensity of the contact at the end location is,optionally, based on only a portion of the continuous swipe contact, andnot the entire swipe contact (e.g., only the portion of the swipecontact at the end location). In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithmis, optionally, applied to the intensities of the swipe contact prior todetermining the characteristic intensity of the contact. For example,the smoothing algorithm optionally includes one or more of: anunweighted sliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothingalgorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and/or an exponentialsmoothing algorithm. In some circumstances, these smoothing algorithmseliminate narrow spikes or dips in the intensities of the swipe contactfor purposes of determining a characteristic intensity.

The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface is,optionally, characterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds,such as a contact-detection intensity threshold, a light press intensitythreshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and/or one or more otherintensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations typically associated with clicking a button of a physicalmouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations that are different from operations typically associated withclicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In someembodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominalcontact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is nolonger detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordancewith movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface withoutperforming an operation associated with the light press intensitythreshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally, unlessotherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent betweendifferent sets of user interface figures.

An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold to an intensity between thelight press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity thresholdis sometimes referred to as a “light press” input. An increase ofcharacteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deeppress intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input. An increaseof characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below thecontact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between thecontact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on thetouch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contactfrom an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold to anintensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold is sometimesreferred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is zero.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold isgreater than zero.

In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations areperformed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respectivepress input or in response to detecting the respective press inputperformed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), wherethe respective press input is detected based at least in part ondetecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality ofcontacts) above a press-input intensity threshold. In some embodiments,the respective operation is performed in response to detecting theincrease in intensity of the respective contact above the press-inputintensity threshold (e.g., a “down stroke” of the respective pressinput). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase inintensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensitythreshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact belowthe press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation isperformed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensityof the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an “upstroke” of the respective press input).

In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoidaccidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines orselects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationshipto the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensitythreshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensitythreshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or somereasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, insome embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity ofthe respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and asubsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresisintensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensitythreshold, and the respective operation is performed in response todetecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contactbelow the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of therespective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the press inputis detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of thecontact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity thresholdto an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and,optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to anintensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respectiveoperation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g.,the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity ofthe contact, depending on the circumstances).

For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations performed inresponse to a press input associated with a press-input intensitythreshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are,optionally, triggered in response to detecting either: an increase inintensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, anincrease in intensity of a contact from an intensity below thehysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-inputintensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below thepress-input intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of thecontact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to thepress-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where anoperation is described as being performed in response to detecting adecrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensitythreshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response todetecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresisintensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-inputintensity threshold.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary schematic block diagram of languageinput module 600 in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, language input module 600 is implemented using one or moremultifunction devices including but not limited to devices 100, 300, and1100 (FIGS. 1A, 3, and 11). In particular, memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370(FIG. 3), in some examples, includes language input module 600. Languageinput module 600 enables language input functionalities in amultifunctional device. Specifically, language input module 600 enablesa multifunctional device to perform processes for dynamic phraseexpansion of language input (e.g., process 700) as described herein.

As shown in FIG. 6, language input module 600 includes language inputconverter engine 602, dictionary 604, language model 608, lexicon 606,vocabulary store 610, and phrase expansion engine 612. Language inputconverter module 602 is configured to receive text of a first symbolicsystem and to convert the text to a plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words of a second symbolic system. In particular, languageinput converter module 602 is configured to receive text of the firstsymbolic system and parse it into one or more segments. Additionally,language input converter module 602 is configured to search lexicon 606for matching segments that correspond to words of the second symbolicsystem. Lexicon 606 includes a collection of words or strings of thefirst symbolic system that each correspond to one or more words of thesecond symbolic system. For example, lexicon 606 includes a collectionof Chinese Pinyin words or strings that each correspond to one or moreChinese words. In a specific example, the collection of Chinese Pinyinwords or strings includes the Chinese Pinyin string “wo” thatcorresponds to the candidate words “

(I),” “

(oh),” “

(nest),” and “

(hold).” Language input converter module 602 is configured to searchdictionary 604 to determine candidate words of the second symbolicsystem that correspond to the parsed segments of the text. Dictionary604 includes a collection of words or strings of the first symbolicsystem. Each word or string in dictionary 604 is mapped to one or morecorresponding words of the second symbolic system. For example, usingdictionary 604, language input converter module 602 maps the ChinesePinyin string “wo” to the corresponding candidate words “

(I),” “

(oh),” “

(nest),” and “

(hold).” Language input converter module 602 is further configured toutilize language model 608 to determine a likelihood score for each setof one or more candidate words of the second symbolic system. Languagemodel 608 includes one or more statistical language models (e.g., n-gramlanguage models, neural network based language models, etc.). Further,in some examples, language model 608 includes one or more part-of-speechlanguage models. Each language model is trained using a corpus of textof the second symbolic system. In particular, language input convertermodule 602 provides each set of one or more candidate words to languagemodel 608 and obtains from language model 608 a corresponding likelihoodscore. The likelihood score represents a likelihood of the respectiveset of one or more candidate words in a corpus of text. Language inputconverter module 602 is further configured to rank the plurality of setsof one or more candidate words based on the corresponding likelihoodscores.

At least a portion of the plurality of sets of one or more candidatewords generated by language input converter module 602 is provided tophrase expansion engine 612 to generate expanded candidate phrases. Theat least a portion is based on, for example, the ranking of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words. Based on the at leasta portion of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words,phrase expansion engine 612 generates a plurality of expanded candidatephrases. Specifically, phrase expansion engine 612 is configured todetermine and generate one or more expanded candidate phrases from a setof one or more candidate words. In some examples, phrase expansionengine 612 utilizes language model 608 to determine one or morepredicted words given at least one word of the set of one or morecandidate words. A likelihood score is associated with the one or morepredicted words. The likelihood score represents the likelihood of theone or more predicted words given the at least one word of the set ofone or more candidate words. In some examples, an expanded candidatephrase is generated based on the one or more predicted words. Theexpanded candidate phrase includes, for example, the at least one wordof the set of one or more candidate words and the one or more predictedwords.

In some examples, phrase expansion engine 612 is configured to selectthe one or more predicted words from vocabulary store 610. Vocabularystore 610 includes predetermined sets of one or more words. Each set ofone or more words in the predetermined sets of one or more wordscorresponds to an ending of a phrase. Selecting the one or morepredicted words from vocabulary store 610 results in the generation ofexpanded candidate phrases that are complete phrases.

Phrase expansion engine 612 is further configured to search lexicon 606to determine whether an end word of a set of one or more candidate wordsis a prefix of another word. Lexicon 606 includes, for example, acollection of prefixes of the second symbolic system. If the end word isdetermined to be a prefix of another word, phrase expansion engine 612drops the end word and determines the one or more predicted words basedon a subset of the set of one or more candidate words. The subset doesnot, for example, include the end word.

In examples where the one or more predicted words are determined basedon a subset of the set of one or more candidate words, phrase expansionengine 612 is configured to verify that the one or more predicted wordsare consistent with the received text of the first symbolic system.Specifically, phrase expansion engine 612 is configured to determinewhether at least one word of the one or more predicted words correspondsto a portion of the text of the first symbolic system. In some examples,if the one or more predicted words correspond to a portion of the textof the first symbolic system, the one or more predicted words areaccepted and used to generate an expanded candidate phrase. If the oneor more predicted words do not correspond to a portion of the text ofthe first symbolic system, the one or more predicted words are rejectedand not used to generate an expanded candidate phrase.

Phrase expansion engine 612 is further configured to perform phraseboundary verification. In particular, phrase expansion engine 612 isconfigured to determine whether the end of a phrase comprising the atleast one word of the set of one or more candidate words and the one ormore predicted words corresponds to a phrase boundary. The determinationis performed using, for example, a part-of-speech language model inlanguage model 608. For example, part-of-speech information encoded ineach word of the phrase is provided to the part-of-speech language modeland the part-of-speech language model determines a likelihood that theend of the phrase corresponds to a phrase boundary. If the end of thephrase is determined to correspond to a phrase boundary, then the phraseis optionally stored as an expanded candidate phrase. If the end of thephrase is determined not to correspond to a phrase boundary, then one ormore additional predicted words are determined using phrase expansionengine 612 to complete the phrase.

Phrase expansion engine 612 is further configured to determine alikelihood score for each expanded candidate phrase generated by phraseexpansion engine 612. The likelihood score is generated, for example,using language model 608. Additionally, or alternatively, the likelihoodscore for a given expanded candidate phrase is, in some examples,generated based on combining the likelihood score of the respective setof one or more candidate words and the likelihood score of therespective one or more predicted words. Phrase expansion engine 612 isfurther configured to rank the plurality of expanded candidate phrasesbased on the plurality of likelihood scores. Based on the ranking,phrase expansion engine 612 provides one or more expanded candidatephrases for display (e.g., via touchscreen 112) to the user.

FIGS. 7A-C is a flow diagram illustrating process 700 for dynamic phraseexpansion of language input using an electronic device in accordancewith some embodiments. FIG. 8 illustrates multiple sets of one or morecandidate Chinese words converted from a Chinese Pinyin text input inaccordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 9A-C illustrate expanded Chinesephrases generated by dynamic phrase expansion in accordance with someembodiments. FIGS. 10A-B illustrate an electronic device implementingaspects of dynamic phrase expansion of language input in accordance withsome embodiments. Process 700 is described below with simultaneousreference to FIGS. 7A-C, 8, 9A-C, and 10. Process 700 is performed, forexample, at a device (e.g., 100, 300, or 500) with a display. Inparticular, process 700 can be performed using a language module (e.g.,language input module 600 of FIG. 6) implemented on the devices. Someoperations of process 700 are, optionally, combined, the order of someoperations are, optionally, changed, and some operations are,optionally, omitted.

At block 702, a user input is received. The user input is received, forexample, via a user interface (e.g., a keyboard/mouse 350, or a textinput graphical user interface displayed on touch screen 112) of theelectronic device. For example, with reference to FIGS. 10A-B, userinput is received via keyboard interface 1002 displayed on electronicdevice 1000. Electronic device 1000 is similar to device 100 or 300described above. The user input comprises text of a first symbolicsystem. The text of the user input represents, for example, a phoneticpronunciation of at least part of a word of a language. The firstsymbolic system can be any phonetic symbolic writing system fortranscribing a language. In one example, the first symbolic systemcomprises Chinese Pinyin or Chinese Zhuyin. In another example, thefirst symbolic system comprises Japanese Kana or Japanese Romaji. In aspecific example shown in FIGS. 8 and 10A, the user input comprises text810 “wodaibiaoquanjiazhuniwan” of the Chinese Pinyin symbolic system. Inthis example, in response to receiving the user input, text 810 isdisplayed in user interface 1004. In this example, user interface 1004is a user interface of a word processing program. It should berecognized that in other examples, the user interface can be anytext-based user interface of an application, such as a messagingapplication, email application, web browser, or the like.

At block 704, a plurality of sets of one or more candidate words of asecond symbolic system of the language are determined based on the textof block 702. Block 704 can be performed, for example, by a languageinput converter module (language input converter module 602). The textof block 702 is converted into multiple sets of one or more candidatewords in the second symbolic system. Each set of one or more candidatewords corresponds to the text. The conversion is performed by parsingthe text into different segments and mapping each segment to one or morecorresponding candidate words using a dictionary (e.g., dictionary 604),a look-up table, or the like. The second symbolic system is, forexample, different from the first symbolic system. In some examples, thefirst symbolic system comprises a Roman character system and the secondsymbolic system comprises a non-Roman character system. In one suchexample, the first symbolic system comprises Chinese Pinyin and thesecond symbolic system comprises Chinese characters. In other examples,the first symbolic system comprises a first non-Roman syllabic charactersystem and the second symbolic system comprise a second non-Romancharacter system. In one such example, the first symbolic systemcomprises Chinese Zhuyin and the second symbolic system comprisesChinese characters. In another such example, the first symbolic systemcomprises Japanese Kana and the second symbolic system comprises acombination of Japanese Kana and Kanji.

Referring to the example of FIG. 8, Pinyin text 810 is converted to aplurality of sets of one or more candidate words 812 in Chinesecharacters. Although Pinyin text 810 is shown as segmented with spacesbetween the segments, it should be recognized that in some examples,Pinyin text 810 is received without any spaces between any of theletters. For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, Pinyin text 810 is receivedwithout any spaces between the letters. During conversion, Pinyin text810 is parsed into segments that each represents a candidate Chineseword. As shown, Pinyin segments “wo,” “dai,” “biao,” “daibiao,”“quanjia,” etc. are identified by parsing Pinyin text 810. The parsingis performed, for example, by searching a Chinese Pinyin lexicon (e.g.,lexicon 606) for matching Pinyin segments that correspond to Chinesewords. Each segment is then converted into one or more candidate wordsusing, for example, a Pinyin-to-Chinese character dictionary (e.g., atdictionary 604) or look-up table. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, thePinyin segment “wo” in Pinyin text 810 is determined to correspond tothe candidate words “

(I),” “

(oh),” “

(nest),” and “

(hold).” Similarly, the Pinyin segment “daibiao” is determined tocorrespond to the candidate words “

(on behalf of)” and “

(wear watch).” Thus, each candidate word in each set of one or morecandidate words of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate wordscorresponds to at least a portion of the text. For example, “

(I)” corresponds to the Pinyin segment “wo” and “

(wear watch)” corresponds to the Pinyin segment “daibiao.” In otherwords, in this example, none of the candidate words in plurality of setsof one or more candidate words 812 are predicted. Rather, each of thecandidate words in the plurality of sets of one or more candidate wordsis converted from at least a portion of Pinyin text 810.

It should be appreciated that when parsing the Pinyin text into Pinyinsegments, multiple pinyin segments are, in some examples, consideredwhen an ambiguity exists. For example, the Pinyin text “xianai” can beparsed into the Pinyin segments “xian/ai,” “xi/an/ai,” and “xia/nai.” Inthis example, all of these Pinyin segments are considered whendetermining the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words atblock 704.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the candidate words are linked together in amatrix by paths 808. The various combinations of candidate words thatare linked together in the matrix make up plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words 812. For example, first set of one or morecandidate words 806 (depicted in bold) includes “

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(play).” Second set of one or more candidate words 804 (also depicted inbold), for example, includes “

(wear watch)

(full price)

(live)

(intend)

(night).”

In some examples, the user input of block 702 does not indicate anacceptance of any candidate word(s) of the plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words. For example, in some text input interfaces,certain input characters (e.g., space or full stop) denote the user'sacceptance of a proposed candidate word or set of candidate wordscorresponding to the text input. For these text input interfaces, theuser input of block 702 does not, for example, include these inputcharacters.

In some examples, block 704 includes block 706. At block 706, aplurality of likelihood scores corresponding to the plurality of sets ofone or more candidate words are determined. Block 706 can be performedusing a language input converter engine (language input converter module602). In particular, for each set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words, a correspondinglikelihood score of the plurality of likelihood scores is determined.Each likelihood score of the plurality of likelihood scores isdetermined, for example, using a language model (e.g., language model608). For example, the language model determines each likelihood scoregiven the textual context where the respective set of one or morecandidate words appears. The language model is, for example, astatistical language model, such as an n-gram language model, or aneural network based language model, such as a recurrent neural networklanguage model (RNNLM) or a long short-term memory language model(LSTMLM). The language model is configured to receive a set of one ormore candidate words and determine a corresponding likelihood score. Thelikelihood score represents, for example, the likelihood of occurrenceof the set of one or more candidate words in a corpus of text used totrain the language model. Thus, sets of one or more candidate words thatoccur more frequently in the corpus would be determined to have a higherlikelihood score.

Returning to the example of FIG. 8, a likelihood score is determinedusing a language model for each set of one or more candidate words ofplurality of sets of one or more candidate words 812. In this example,first set of one or more candidate words 806 “

(I) (on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(play)” is the most semantically correct and thus the most likely tooccur in a corpus of text among plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words 812. Therefore, in this example, first set of one ormore candidate words 806 is determined to have the highest likelihoodscore among plurality of sets of one or more candidate words 812.

At block 708, the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words areranked based on the plurality of likelihood scores determined at block706. Block 708 can be performed using a language input converter engine(language input converter module 602). For example, the plurality ofsets of one or more candidate words are ranked according to thecorresponding likelihood scores from the highest likelihood score to thelowest likelihood score. In the example of FIG. 8, the first set of oneor more candidate words has the highest likelihood score and thus is thehighest ranked set of one or more candidate words among plurality ofsets of one or more candidate words 812.

At block 710, a plurality of expanded candidate phrases are determinedbased on at least a portion of the plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words. The plurality of expanded candidate phrases are phrasesof the second symbolic system. Block 710 can be performed using a phraseexpansion engine (e.g., phrase expansion engine 612). Each expandedcandidate phrase of the plurality of expanded candidate phrasescomprises at least one word of a respective set of one or more candidatewords of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words and one ormore predicted words. The one or more predicted words are determinedbased on the at least one word of the respective set of one or morecandidate words. Block 710, in some examples, includes one or more ofblocks 712-722.

The plurality of expanded candidate phrases can be determined based onany number of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words. Insome examples, the plurality of expanded candidate phrases aredetermined based on every set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of candidate words. In these examples, each set of oneor more candidate words is used to generate one or more expandedcandidate phrases. In other examples, the plurality of expandedcandidate phrases are determined based on the N highest ranked sets ofone or more candidate words among the plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words, where N is a predetermined integer greater than zero.Specifically, based on the ranking of block 708, the N highest rankedsets of one or more candidate words are identified and each of these Nhighest ranked sets of one or more candidate words is used to generateone or more expanded candidate phrases. In a specific example, N is theinteger “1” where the plurality of expanded candidate phrases aredetermined based on the highest ranked set of one or more candidatewords.

At block 712, one or more predicted words are determined given at leastone word of a set of one or more candidate words of the plurality ofsets of one or more candidate words. An expanded candidate phrase of theplurality of expanded candidate phrases is generated based on thedetermined one or more predicted words. Block 712 can be performed usinga phrase expansion engine (e.g., phrase expansion engine 612). The oneor more predicted words are words of the second symbolic system of thelanguage. The phrase expansion engine uses, for example, a languagemodel (e.g., language model 608) to determine the one or more predictedwords. In particular, given the at least one word of the set of one ormore candidate words, one or more predicted words that likely succeedthe at least one word are determined using the language model. In someexamples, the determined one or more predicted words are associated witha likelihood score. The likelihood score is generated from the languagemodel and represents, for example, the likelihood of the one or morepredicted words given the at least one word of a set of one or morecandidate words. The language model used to determine the one or morepredicted words is, for example, an n-gram language model. In otherexamples, the language model is a neural network based language model.In some examples, the number of words in the one or more predicted wordsis less than an order of the language model. This is particularlyapplicable in examples where the language model is an n-gram languagemodel. For example, if the language model is a 4-gram language model,then the number of words in the one or more predicted words would beless than four. This is desirable to achieve accurate word predictions.In particular, an n-gram language model of order n considers only then−1 previous words as direct context. If the one or more predicted wordsdetermined from the n-gram language model has n words or greater, thenthe one or more predicted word would not be directly based on thecontext of any word in the set of one or more candidate words, whichwould result in inaccurate word prediction. It should be recognized thatother statistical language models can be used to perform block 712.Further, it should be recognized that in examples where the languagemodel is a neural network language model (e.g., RNNLM or LSTMLM), thenumber of words in the one or more predicted words need not be limited.For example, a RNNLM can consider all words in the entire input and thusthe one or more predicted words can contain any number of words.

In some examples, the one or more predicted words are determined byselecting the one or more predicted words from a plurality ofpredetermined sets of one or more words. The predetermined sets of oneor more words are obtained, for example, from a vocabulary store (e.g.,vocabulary store 610). In some examples, each set of one or more wordsin the predetermined sets of one or more words corresponds to an endingof a phrase. Thus, in these examples, the determined one or morepredicted words correspond to an ending of a phrase. This can bedesirable to prevent incomplete expanded candidate phrases from beinggenerated.

In some examples, the at least one word of the set of one or morecandidate words used to determine the one or more predicted wordsincludes the entire set of one or more candidate words. For example,referring to FIG. 9A, one or more first predicted words 902 aredetermined given the entire first set 806 of one or more candidate wordsof plurality of sets of one or more candidate words 812. In thisexample, the determined one or more first predicted words 902 is theChinese word “

,” which is a grammatical particle for indicating a completion of anaction. First expanded candidate phrase 952 is generated using one ormore first predicted words 902. Specifically, in this example, firstexpanded candidate phrase 952 of plurality of expanded candidate phrases950 includes first set of one or more candidate words 806 and one ormore first predicted words 902: “

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(play)

.” It should be recognized that any number of one or more predictedwords can be determined at block 712. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A,one or more second predicted words 904 “

(enough)

,” are determined given first set of one or more candidate words 806.Second expanded candidate phrase 954 is then generated using one or moresecond predicted words 904. Specifically, in this example, secondexpanded candidate phrase 954 of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases 950 includes first set of one or more candidate words 806 andone or more second predicted words 904: “

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(play)

(enough)

.”

At block 714, a determination is made as to whether an end word of theset of one or more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words is a prefix of another word. Block 714 can beperformed using a phrase expansion engine (e.g., phrase expansion engine612). For example, with reference to FIG. 8, a prefix search isperformed on the end word “

(play)” of first set (806) of one or more candidate words to determinewhether it corresponds to a prefix of another word. The prefix search isperformed, for example, by searching a lexicon of prefixes (e.g.,lexicon 606) to determine whether the end word matches any word in thelexicon of prefixes. If a match is found, then the end word isdetermined to correspond to a prefix of another word. Conversely, if nomatch is found, then the end word is determined not to correspond to aprefix of another word. In the present example, the end word “

(play)” is determined to be a prefix of another word.

In accordance with a determination that the end word of the set of oneor more candidate words is a prefix of another word, the end word isdropped and the remaining words of the set of one or more candidatewords are used to determine the one or more predicted words. In theseexamples, the at least one word of the set of one or more candidatewords used to determine the one or more predicted words is a subset ofthe set of one or more candidate words. For example, referring now toFIG. 9B, the end word “

(play)” is dropped from first set of one or more candidate words 806 andthe remaining words form subset 910 of first set of one or morecandidate words 806. Thus, subset 910 of first set of one or morecandidate words 806 does not include the end word “

(play).” Each of the one or more predicted words 912-918 is thendetermined based on subset 910 of first set of one or more candidatewords 806. The plurality of expanded candidate phrases, for example,include combinations of subset 910 of first set of one or more candidatewords 806 and each of the one or more predicted words 912-918.

It should be recognized that the determination of block 714 can beperformed for each set of one or more candidate words of the pluralityof sets of one or more candidate words. Further, it should be recognizedthat any number of words can be dropped from a set of one or morecandidate words to form a subset of the set of one or more candidatewords. For instance, in some examples, two or three end words of a setof one or more candidate words are dropped and the remaining words formthe subset of the set of one or more candidate words. Further, in theseexamples, the number of predicted words in the one or more predictedwords is equal to or greater than the number of end words dropped (e.g.,where each predicted word and each dropped end word corresponds to amonosyllabic character of the second symbolic system). For example, ifthree Chinese characters at the end of a set of one or more candidatewords are dropped, then the one or more predicted words determined basedon the remaining words of the set of one or more candidate words includeat least three Chinese characters.

In examples where the one or more predicted words are determined basedon a subset of a set of one or more candidate words of the plurality ofsets of one or more candidate words, block 716 is optionally performed.At block 716, a determination is made as to whether at least one word ofthe one or more predicted words corresponds to a portion of the text ofthe first symbolic system. For example, with reference to FIG. 9B, eachof the one or more predicted words 912-918 is analyzed to determinewhether at least one word (e.g., the first word) of the one or morepredicted words corresponds to a portion of Pinyin text 810. Inparticular, the corresponding Pinyin text is determined for each of theone or more predicted words by looking up the one or more predictedwords in a Chinese character to Pinyin dictionary (e.g., at dictionary604). In the present example, as shown in FIG. 9B, the correspondingPinyin texts of one or more third predicted words 912, one or morefourth predicted words 914, one or more fifth predicted words 916, andone or more sixth predicted words 918 are “hao yun,” “xing fu,” “wanzheng,” and “wan shi,” respectively. Each of the Pinyin texts of the oneor more predicted words 912-918 are then compared to Pinyin text 810 todetermine whether the Pinyin text of at least one word of the respectiveone or more predicted words corresponds to a portion of Pinyin text 810.For example, the Pinyin texts of the one or more predicted words 912-918are compared to the portion “wan” of Pinyin text 810 corresponding tothe removed word “

(play)” to determine whether any partial match exists. Morespecifically, for example, a determination is made as to whether theportion “wan” of Pinyin text 810 corresponding to the removed word “

(play)” at least partially matches the Pinyin of at least one word(e.g., a Chinese character or a semantic word comprising one or moreChinese characters) of one or more predicted words 912-918. In thepresent example, the portion “wan” of Pinyin text 810 at least partiallymatches the Pinyin text “wan” corresponding to the prefixes of thesemantic word “

(complete)” of one or more fifth predicted words 916 and the semanticword “

(everything)” of one or more sixth predicted words 918. Thus, for bothof these one or more predicted words (916, 918), it is determined thatat least one word of the one or more predicted words corresponds to aportion of the text of the first symbolic system. However, for one ormore third predicted words 912 and one or more fourth predicted words914, it is determined that none of the words of the one or morepredicted words correspond to a portion of the text of the firstsymbolic system. Particularly, the portion “wan” of Pinyin text 810 doesnot match any portion of the Pinyin texts “hao yun” and “xin fu” of oneor more third predicted words 912 “

(good luck)” and one or more fourth predicted words 914 “

(happiness),” respectively.

In accordance with a determination that none of the words of the one ormore predicted words correspond to a portion of the text of the firstsymbolic system, block 716 is performed. At block 716, the one or morepredicted words are disregarded and not used to generate an expandedcandidate phrase of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases. Forexample, one or more third predicted words 912 “

(good luck)” and one or more fourth predicted words 914 “

(happiness)” are each disregarded and not used to generate an expandedcandidate phrase. In particular, process 700 forgoes storing the phrases“

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(good luck)” or “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(happiness)” as one of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases. Thisenables predicted words that are unlikely to match the user's intent tobe discarded earlier in the process, thereby reducing computational costand increasing efficiency.

In accordance with a determination that at least one word of the one ormore predicted words corresponds to a portion of the text of the firstsymbolic system, the one or more predicted words are, for example, usedto generate an expanded candidate phrase. For example, one or more fifthpredicted words 916 “

(complete)” and one or more sixth predicted words 918 “

(everything)” are each combined with subset 910 of set of one or morecandidate words 806 to generate expanded candidate phrases. Inparticular, the generated expanded candidate phrases are stored as partof the plurality of expanded candidate phrases. In some examples, block718 is performed in accordance with a determination that at least oneword of the one or more predicted words corresponds to a portion of thetext of the first symbolic system.

At block 718, phrase boundary verification is performed. In particular,a determination is made as to whether the end of a phrase comprising theat least one word of the set of one or more candidate words and the oneor more predicted words corresponds to a phrase boundary. For example,in FIG. 9B, the phrases “

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(complete)” and “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)” are each analyzed at block 718 to determine whether theend of each phrase corresponds to a phrase boundary. In some examples,the determination is based on part-of-speech analysis. In particular,each word of the respective phrase is encoded with part-of-speechinformation. Based on the encoded part-of-speech information, apart-of-speech based language model (e.g., at language model 608) isused to determine a likelihood that the end of the respective phrasecorresponds to a phrase boundary. If the likelihood exceeds apredetermined threshold, then it can be determined that the end of therespective phrase corresponds to a phrase boundary (i.e., the phrase iscomplete). If the likelihood does not exceed a predetermined threshold,then it can be determined that the end of the respective phrase does notcorrespond to a phrase boundary (i.e., the phrase is incomplete). Inother examples, the determination of block 718 is performed using a setof rules (e.g., non-statistical rules) based on part-of-speechsequences. Specifically, in these examples, the phrase comprising the atleast one word of the set of one or more candidate words and the one ormore predicted words is analyzed using the set of rules (e.g.,non-statistical rules) based on part-of-speech sequences to identifyphrase boundaries in a deterministic manner. In the example of FIG. 9B,the end of the phrase “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(complete)” is determined to correspond to a phrase boundary whereas theend of the phrase “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)” is determined to not correspond to a phrase boundary.

In accordance with a determination that the end of a phrase comprisingthe at least one word of the set of one or more candidate words and theone or more predicted words corresponds to a phrase boundary, block 720is performed. At block 720, the expanded candidate phrase generatedbased on the one or more predicted words is accepted. In particular, theexpanded candidate phrase comprising the at least one word of the set ofone or more candidate words and the one or more predicted words isstored as one of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases. Forexample, with reference to FIGS. 9B-C, the phrase “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(complete)” is accepted and stored as third expanded candidate phrase956 of plurality of expanded candidate phrases 950.

With reference back to block 718, in accordance with a determinationthat the end of the phrase comprising the subset of the set of one ormore candidate words and the one or more predicted words does notcorrespond to a phrase boundary, block 722 is performed. At block 722,one or more additional predicted words are determined given the at leastone word of the set of one or more candidate words and the one or morepredicted words. For example, with reference to FIG. 9B, one or moreseventh predicted words 920 “

(the best)” and one or more eighth predicted words 922 “

(lucky)” are determined given the phrase “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything).” One or more seventh predicted words 920 and one or moreeighth predicted words 922 are determined using a language model in asimilar manner as each of the one or more predicted words 912-918,except that the determination is based on one or more sixth predictedwords 918 in addition to subset 910 of first set of one or morecandidate words 806.

As shown in FIG. 7B, after the one or more additional predicted wordsare determined at block 722, phrase boundary verification at block 718is optionally performed again based on the one or more additionalpredicted words. In particular, a determination is made as to whetherthe end of a phrase comprising the at least one word of the set of oneor more candidate words, the one or more predicted words, and the one ormore additional predicted words corresponds to a phrase boundary. In thepresent example shown in FIG. 9B, the ends of the phrases “

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)

(the best)” and “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)

(lucky)” are each determined to correspond to a phrase boundary. Inaccordance with a determination that the ends of these phrases eachcorrespond to a phrase boundary, the phrases are accepted (block 720)and are each stored as an expanded candidate phrase of the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9C, thephrase “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)

(the best)” is stored as fourth expanded candidate phrase 958 ofplurality of expanded candidate phrases 950 and “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)

(lucky)” is stored as fifth expanded candidate phrase 960 of pluralityof expanded candidate phrases 950.

Although in the present example, only one iteration of blocks 718 and722 is performed, it should be recognized that in other examples,multiple iterations can be performed. In particular, any number of oneor more additional predicted words can be determined until a phraseboundary is determined, or until a predetermined number of iterations isperformed. Blocks 716-722 can be performed using a phrase expansionengine (e.g., phrase expansion engine 612).

Additionally, it should be recognized that in some examples, one or moreadditional expanded candidate phrases are determined from a completeexpanded phrase that has an end corresponding to a phrase boundary. Forexample, one or more additional expanded candidate phrases aredetermined from fourth expanded candidate phrase 958. Specifically, oneor more additional predicted words, such as “

(grammatical particle)” or “

(always happy)” are determined based on fourth expanded candidate phrase958. The one or more additional predicted words are then appended tofourth expanded candidate phrase 958 to generate one or more additionalphrases, such as “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)

(the best)

” or “

(I)

(on behalf of)

(my family)

(wish)

(you)

(everything)

(the best)

(always happy).” If the ends of these additional phrases are determined(e.g., block 718) to each correspond to a phrase boundary, then theseadditional phrases can be stored as additional expanded candidatephrases of plurality of expanded candidate phrases 950 (e.g., block720).

Further, it should be appreciated that determining every possibleexpanded candidate phrases at block 710 can be computationallyintractable. Thus, in order to render process 700 more efficient andcomputationally practicable, block 710 is, in some examples, performedusing a best-first search algorithm with a priority queue, which wouldprioritize the search for more promising hypotheses and enable theselective determination of expanded candidate phrases that have higherlikelihood scores. In other examples, the search algorithm is extendedwith an A* search algorithm using a heuristic function. The heuristicfunction, for example, incorporates various information that enables thesearch to be performed more efficiently, such as information from thepart-of-speech language model discussed above.

At block 724, a likelihood score is determined for each expandedcandidate phrase of the plurality of candidate phrases. For example,with reference to FIG. 9C, a likelihood score is determined for eachexpanded candidate phrase of plurality of expanded candidate phrases950. The likelihood score represents a likelihood of the respectiveexpanded candidate phrase of the plurality of expanded candidate phrasesgiven the text of block 702. The likelihood score is, for example,determined using a statistical language model. In some examples, thelikelihood score of an expanded candidate phrase is determined bycombining the likelihood score of the respective set of one or morecandidate phrases (determined block at block 706) and the likelihoodscore of the respective one or more predicted words (determined at block712).

At block 726, the plurality of expanded candidate phrases are rankedbased on the plurality of likelihood scores (e.g., determined at block724) corresponding to the plurality of expanded candidate phrases. Forexample, the plurality of expanded candidate phrases are rankedaccording to the corresponding likelihood scores from the highestlikelihood score to the lowest likelihood score. For instance, in theexample of FIG. 9C, fourth expanded candidate phrase 958 has the highestlikelihood score and thus in this example, it is the highest rankedexpanded candidate phrase among plurality of expanded candidate phrases950. Blocks 724-726 can be performed using a phrase expansion engine(e.g., phrase expansion engine 612).

In some examples, the plurality of expanded candidate phrases are rankedwith at least one set of one or more candidate words from the pluralityof sets of one or more candidate words of block 704. For example,plurality of expanded candidate phrases 950 can be ranked with first setof one or more candidate words 806 and second set of one or morecandidate words 804 based on the plurality of likelihood scores (e.g.,determined at block 724) associated with plurality of expanded candidatephrases 950 and the likelihood scores (e.g., determined at block 706)associated with first set of one or more candidate words 806 and secondset of one or more candidate words 804.

At block 728, one or more expanded candidate phrases of the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases are displayed (e.g., on touch screen 112) foruser selection based on the ranking. For example, the M highest rankedexpanded candidate phrases among the plurality of expanded candidatephrases are displayed on a user interface of the electronic device foruser selection, where M is a predetermined integer greater than zero.For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, fourth expanded candidate phrase 958is displayed in language input interface 1006 on electronic device 1000.In this example, only the highest ranked expanded candidate phrase isdisplayed in language input interface 1006. Fourth expanded candidatephrase 958 is displayed in language input interface 1006 automaticallyand without additional user input in response to receiving user inputcomprising Pinyin text 810.

At block 730, a user selection of an expanded candidate phrase of theone or more displayed expanded candidate phrases is received. Forexample, in FIG. 10A, a user input corresponding to a selection offourth expanded candidate phrase 958 in language input interface 1006 isreceived. The user input is, for example, a touch input received at thetouchscreen of electronic device 1000. In other examples, the user inputcorresponds to a text character input, such as a full stop or a spacecharacter entered via keyboard interface 1002. In these examples, theuser input corresponds to an acceptance of fourth expanded candidatephrase 958 in language input interface 1006. In response to receivingthe user selection of the expanded candidate phrase of the one or moredisplayed expanded candidate phrases, block 732 is performed.

At block 732, the selected expanded candidate phrase is displayed in auser interface displayed on the electronic device. For example, withreference to FIG. 10B, in response to receiving the user inputcorresponding to a selection of fourth expanded candidate phrase 958 inlanguage input interface 1006, fourth expanded candidate phrase 958 isdisplayed in word processing user interface 1004.

In examples where the plurality of expanded candidate phrases are ranked(e.g., at block 726) with at least one set of one or more candidatewords from the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words of block704, one or more sets of one or more candidate words of the at least oneset of one or more candidate words ranked at block 726 can be displayed(e.g., block 728) for user selection with the one or more expandedcandidate phrases of block 728. For example, first set of one or morecandidate words 806 can be displayed at block 728 for user selectionwith fourth expanded candidate phrase 958. Additionally, in theseexamples, the user selection of block 730 can be a user selection of aset of one or more candidate words (e.g., first set of one or morecandidate words 806) from the one or more displayed sets of one or morecandidate words. In response to receiving the user selection, theselected set of one or more candidate words is displayed in the userinterface (e.g., block 732).

Although process 700 is described above with reference to the examplesof FIGS. 8, 9A-C, and 10A-B where the first symbolic system is ChinesePinyin and the second symbolic system is Chinese characters, it shouldbe recognized that process 700 is not limited to Chinese text input andcan similarly be applied to other symbolic systems of other languages.For example, process 700 can be applied to Japanese text input where thefirst symbolic system is Japanese Kana or Japanese Romaji and the secondsymbolic system is a combination of Japanese Kana and Japanese Kanji. Inanother example, process 700 can be applied to Thai text input where thefirst symbolic system is the Roman or Latin alphabet and the secondsymbolic system is Thai script. One skilled in the art would recognizeother suitable languages that process 700 can be apply to where aphonetic text representation of the language is received in a firstsymbolic system (e.g., Roman or Latin alphabet) and subsequentlyconverted to a second symbolic system of the language (e.g., Korean,certain East Indian languages, Cyrillic, Greek, Russian, etc.).

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 11 shows an exemplaryfunctional block diagram of an electronic device 1100 configured inaccordance with the principles of the various described embodiments. Inaccordance with some embodiments, the functional blocks of electronicdevice 1100 are configured to perform the techniques described above.The functional blocks of the device 1100 are, optionally, implemented byhardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carryout the principles of the various described examples. It is understoodby persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described inFIG. 11 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks toimplement the principles of the various described examples. Therefore,the description herein optionally supports any possible combination orseparation or further definition of the functional blocks describedherein.

As shown in FIG. 11, an electronic device 1100 includes a display unit1102 configured to display a graphic user interface, optionally, atouch-sensitive surface unit 1104 configured to receive contacts, aninput unit 1106 configured to receive user input (e.g., text input), anda processing unit 1106 coupled to the display unit 1102, the input unit1106, and, optionally, the touch-sensitive surface unit 1104. In someembodiments, the processing unit 1108 includes a receiving unit 1110, adetermining unit 1112, a ranking unit 1114, and a display enabling unit1116.

In accordance with some embodiments, processing unit 1108 is configuredto receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1110 and via touch-sensitivesurface unit 1104 or input unit 1106) a user input (user input of block702) comprising text of a first symbolic system. The text represents aphonetic pronunciation of at least part of a word of a language.Processing unit 1108 is further configured to determine (e.g., withdetermining unit 1112), based on the text, a plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words (e.g., plurality of sets of one or more candidatewords of block 704) of a second symbolic system of the language. Eachcandidate word in each set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words corresponds to at leasta portion of the text. Processing unit 1108 is further configured todetermine (e.g., with determining unit 1112), based on at least aportion of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, aplurality of expanded candidate phrases (e.g., plurality of expandedcandidate phrases of block 710). Each expanded candidate phrase of theplurality of expanded candidate phrases comprises at least one word of arespective set of one or more candidate words of the plurality of setsof one or more candidate words and one or more predicted words based onthe at least one word of the respective set of one or more candidatewords. Processing unit 1108 is further configured to rank (e.g., withranking unit 1114) the plurality of expanded candidate phrases based ona plurality of likelihood scores corresponding to the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases (e.g., block 726). Processing unit 1108 isfurther configured to display (e.g., with display enabling unit 1116 andon display unit 1102), based on the ranking, one or more expandedcandidate phrases of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases foruser selection (e.g., block 728).

In some examples, processing unit 1108 is further configured to receive(e.g., with receiving unit and via touch-sensitive surface unit 1104 orinput unit 1106) a user selection (e.g., user selection of block 730) ofan expanded candidate phrase of the one or more displayed expandedcandidate phrases. Processing unit 1108 is further configured to display(e.g., with display enabling unit 1116 and on display unit 1102) theselected expanded candidate phrase in a user interface displayed on theelectronic device (e.g., block 732).

In some examples, processing unit 1108 is further configured todetermine (e.g., with determining unit 1112), using a language model, asecond plurality of likelihood scores (e.g., plurality of likelihoodscores of block 706) corresponding to the plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words. Processing unit 1108 is further configured to rank(e.g., with ranking unit 1114) the plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words based on the second plurality of likelihood scores(e.g., block 708).

In some examples, the plurality of expanded candidate phrases aredetermined based on N highest ranked sets of one or more candidate wordsamong the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, and whereinN is an integer greater than zero.

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining one or more first predicted words(e.g., one or more predicted words of block 712) given at least one wordof a first set of one or more candidate words of the plurality of setsof one or more candidate words, where a first phrase comprises the atleast one word of the first set of one or more candidate words and theone or more first predicted words.

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining whether an end of the firstphrase corresponds to a phrase boundary (e.g., block 718), and inaccordance with a determination that the end of the first phrasecorresponds to a phrase boundary, storing the first phrase as one of theplurality of expanded candidate phrases (e.g., block 720).

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: in accordance with a determination that theend of the first phrase does not correspond to a phrase boundary,determining one or more second predicted words (e.g., one or moreadditional predicted words of block 722) given the at least one word ofthe first set of one or more candidate words and the one or more firstpredicted words, where a second phrase comprises the first phrase andthe one or more second predicted words.

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining whether an end of the secondphrase corresponds to a phrase boundary (e.g., block 718), and inaccordance with a determination that the end of the second phrasecorresponds to a phrase boundary, storing the second phrase as one ofthe plurality of expanded candidate phrases (e.g., block 720).

In some examples, the one or more first predicted words are determinedusing a language model.

In some examples, a number of words in the one or more first predictedwords is less than an order of the language model. In some examples, thelanguage model is an N-gram language model. In some examples, thelanguage model is neural network based language model.

In some examples, the one or more first predicted words comprise one ormore words of the second symbolic system of the language.

In some examples, determining the one or more first predicted wordscomprises selecting the one or more first predicted words from aplurality of predetermined sets of one or more words (e.g., blocks 710and/or 712).

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining one or more third predicted words(e.g., one or more predicted words of block 712) given a third set ofone or more candidate words (e.g., first set 806 of one or morecandidate words of block 712) of the plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words. A third expanded candidate phrase of the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases comprises the third set of one or morecandidate words and the one or more third predicted words.

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining one or more fourth predictedwords (e.g., one or more predicted words of block 712) given a subset(e.g., subset 910 of block 712) of a fourth set of one or more candidatewords of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, where afourth phrase comprises the subset of the fourth set of one or morecandidate words and the one or more fourth predicted words.

In some examples, a number of words in the one or more fourth predictedwords is equal to or greater than a difference between a number of wordsin the fourth set of one or more candidate words and a number of wordsin the subset of the fourth set of one or more candidate words.

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining whether at least one word of theone or more fourth predicted words corresponds to a portion of the textof the first symbolic system (e.g., block 716), and in accordance with adetermination that at least one word of the one or more fourth predictedwords corresponds to a portion of the text of the first symbolic system,storing the fourth phrase as one of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases (e.g., block 720).

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: in accordance with a determination that atleast one word of the one or more fourth predicted words does notcorrespond to a portion of the text of the first symbolic system, forgostoring the fourth phrase as one of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases (e.g., block 716).

In some examples, determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining whether an end word of a fifthset of one or more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words is a prefix of another word (e.g., block 714), andin accordance with a determination that an end word of a fifth set ofone or more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words is a prefix of another word, determining one or morefifth predicted words (e.g., one or more predicted words of block 712)given a subset (e.g., subset 910) of the fifth set of one or morecandidate words. The subset of the fifth set of one or more candidatewords does not include the end word of the fifth set of one or morecandidate words. A fifth expanded candidate phrase of the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases comprises the subset of the fifth set of oneor more candidate words and the one or more fifth predicted words.

In some examples, each likelihood score of the plurality of likelihoodscores represents a likelihood of a respective expanded candidate phraseof the plurality of expanded candidate phrases given the text.

In some examples, the user input does not indicate an acceptance of anyset of one or more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words.

In some examples, the first symbolic system comprises Chinese Pinyin orChinese Zhuyin and the second symbolic system comprises Chinesecharacters.

In some examples, the first symbolic system comprises Japanese Kana orJapanese Romaji and the second symbolic system comprises a combinationof Japanese Kana and Kanji.

In accordance with some implementations, a computer-readable storagemedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) isprovided, the computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreprograms for execution by one or more processors of an electronicdevice, the one or more programs including instructions for performingany of the methods described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., amultifunctional device) is provided that comprises means for performingany of the methods described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., amultifunctional device) is provided that comprises a processing unitconfigured to perform any of the methods described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., amultifunctional device) is provided that comprises one or moreprocessors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by theone or more processors, the one or more programs including instructionsfor performing any of the methods described herein.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 7A-C are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B, 3, 6 orFIG. 11. For example, the operations of process 700 may be implementedby one or more of operating system 126, applications module 136,language input module 600, or processor(s) 120, 310, 704. Similarly, itwould be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how otherprocesses can be implemented based on the components depicted in FIG.1A-1B, 3, or 6.

In the present disclosure, words (e.g., candidate words, predictedwords, or end words) refer to, for example, monosyllabic words of thesecond symbolic system where each word refers to a monosyllabic word(e.g., a Chinese character) of the second symbolic system. In otherexamples, words (e.g., candidate words, predicted words, or end words)refer to semantic words where each word refers to a semantic wordcomprising one or more monosyllabic characters (e.g., one or moreChinese characters) of the second symbolic system.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the techniques and their practical applications. Othersskilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniquesand various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined bythe claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device for dynamic phrase expansionof language input, comprising: one or more processors; and memorystoring one or more programs, the one or more programs includinginstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: receive a user input comprising text of afirst symbolic system, the text representing a phonetic pronunciation ofat least part of a word of a language; determine, based on the text, aplurality of sets of one or more candidate words of a second symbolicsystem of the language, wherein each candidate word in each set of oneor more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words corresponds to at least a portion of the text;determine, based on at least a portion of the plurality of sets of oneor more candidate words, a plurality of expanded candidate phrases, eachexpanded candidate phrase of the plurality of expanded candidate phrasescomprising at least one word of a respective set of one or morecandidate words of the plurality of sets of one or more candidate wordsand one or more predicted words based on the at least one word of therespective set of one or more candidate words; rank the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases based on a plurality of likelihood scorescorresponding to the plurality of expanded candidate phrases; anddisplay, based on the ranking, one or more expanded candidate phrases ofthe plurality of expanded candidate phrases for user selection.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the one ormore processors to: receive a user selection of an expanded candidatephrase of the one or more displayed expanded candidate phrases; anddisplay the selected expanded candidate phrase in a user interfacedisplayed on the electronic device.
 3. The device of claim 1, whereinthe instructions further cause the one or more processors to:determining, using a language model, a second plurality of likelihoodscores corresponding to the plurality of sets of one or more candidatewords; and ranking the plurality of sets of one or more candidate wordsbased on the second plurality of likelihood scores.
 4. The device ofclaim 3, wherein the plurality of expanded candidate phrases aredetermined based on N highest ranked sets of one or more candidate wordsamong the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, and whereinN is an integer greater than zero.
 5. The device of claim 1, whereindetermining the plurality of expanded candidate phrases furthercomprises: determining one or more first predicted words given at leastone word of a first set of one or more candidate words of the pluralityof sets of one or more candidate words, wherein a first phrase comprisesthe at least one word of the first set of one or more candidate wordsand the one or more first predicted words.
 6. The device of claim 5,wherein determining the plurality of expanded candidate phrases furthercomprises: determining whether an end of the first phrase corresponds toa phrase boundary; and in accordance with a determination that the endof the first phrase corresponds to a phrase boundary, storing the firstphrase as one of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases.
 7. Thedevice of claim 6, wherein determining the plurality of expandedcandidate phrases further comprises: in accordance with a determinationthat the end of the first phrase does not correspond to a phraseboundary: determining one or more second predicted words given the atleast one word of the first set of one or more candidate words and theone or more first predicted words, wherein a second phrase comprises thefirst phrase and the one or more second predicted words.
 8. The deviceof claim 7, wherein determining the plurality of expanded candidatephrases further comprises: determining whether an end of the secondphrase corresponds to a phrase boundary; and in accordance with adetermination that the end of the second phrase corresponds to a phraseboundary, storing the second phrase as one of the plurality of expandedcandidate phrases.
 9. The device of claim 5, wherein the one or morefirst predicted words are determined using a language model.
 10. Thedevice of claim 9, wherein a number of words in the one or more firstpredicted words is less than an order of the language model.
 11. Thedevice of claim 5, wherein the one or more first predicted wordscomprise one or more words of the second symbolic system of thelanguage.
 12. The device of claim 5, wherein determining the one or morefirst predicted words comprises selecting the one or more firstpredicted words from a plurality of predetermined sets of one or morewords.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein determining the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases further comprises: determining one or morethird predicted words given a third set of one or more candidate wordsof the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, wherein a thirdexpanded candidate phrase of the plurality of expanded candidate phrasescomprises the third set of one or more candidate words and the one ormore third predicted words.
 14. The device of claim 1, whereindetermining the plurality of expanded candidate phrases furthercomprises: determining one or more fourth predicted words given a subsetof a fourth set of one or more candidate words of the plurality of setsof one or more candidate words, wherein a fourth phrase comprises thesubset of the fourth set of one or more candidate words and the one ormore fourth predicted words.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein anumber of words in the one or more fourth predicted words is equal to orgreater than a difference between a number of words in the fourth set ofone or more candidate words and a number of words in the subset of thefourth set of one or more candidate words.
 16. The device of claim 14,wherein determining the plurality of expanded candidate phrases furthercomprises: determining whether at least one word of the one or morefourth predicted words corresponds to a portion of the text of the firstsymbolic system; and in accordance with a determination that at leastone word of the one or more fourth predicted words corresponds to aportion of the text of the first symbolic system, storing the fourthphrase as one of the plurality of expanded candidate phrases.
 17. Thedevice of claim 16, wherein determining the plurality of expandedcandidate phrases further comprises: in accordance with a determinationthat at least one word of the one or more fourth predicted words doesnot correspond to a portion of the text of the first symbolic system,forgoing storing the fourth phrase as one of the plurality of expandedcandidate phrases.
 18. The device of claim 1, wherein determining theplurality of expanded candidate phrases further comprises: determiningwhether an end word of a fifth set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words is a prefix of anotherword; and in accordance with a determination that an end word of a fifthset of one or more candidate words of the plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words is a prefix of another word: determining one ormore fifth predicted words given a subset of the fifth set of one ormore candidate words, wherein the subset of the fifth set of one or morecandidate words does not include the end word of the fifth set of one ormore candidate words, and wherein a fifth expanded candidate phrase ofthe plurality of expanded candidate phrases comprises the subset of thefifth set of one or more candidate words and the one or more fifthpredicted words.
 19. The device of claim 1, wherein each likelihoodscore of the plurality of likelihood scores represents a likelihood of arespective expanded candidate phrase of the plurality of expandedcandidate phrases given the text.
 20. The device of claim 1, wherein thefirst symbolic system comprises Chinese Pinyin or Chinese Zhuyin and thesecond symbolic system comprises Chinese characters.
 21. A method fordynamic phrase expansion of language input, the method comprising: at anelectronic device having one or more processors and memory: receiving auser input comprising text of a first symbolic system, the textrepresenting a phonetic pronunciation of at least part of a word of alanguage; determining, based on the text, a plurality of sets of one ormore candidate words of a second symbolic system of the language,wherein each candidate word in each set of one or more candidate wordsof the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words corresponds toat least a portion of the text; determining, based on at least a portionof the plurality of sets of one or more candidate words, a plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases, each expanded candidate phrase of theplurality of expanded candidate phrases comprising at least one word ofa respective set of one or more candidate words of the plurality of setsof one or more candidate words and one or more predicted words based onthe at least one word of the respective set of one or more candidatewords; ranking the plurality of expanded candidate phrases based on aplurality of likelihood scores corresponding to the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases; and displaying, based on the ranking, one ormore expanded candidate phrases of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases for user selection.
 22. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programscomprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processorsof an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: receive a userinput comprising text of a first symbolic system, the text representinga phonetic pronunciation of at least part of a word of a language;determine, based on the text, a plurality of sets of one or morecandidate words of a second symbolic system of the language, whereineach candidate word in each set of one or more candidate words of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words corresponds to at leasta portion of the text; determine, based on at least a portion of theplurality of sets of one or more candidate words, a plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases, each expanded candidate phrase of theplurality of expanded candidate phrases comprising at least one word ofa respective set of one or more candidate words of the plurality of setsof one or more candidate words and one or more predicted words based onthe at least one word of the respective set of one or more candidatewords; rank the plurality of expanded candidate phrases based on aplurality of likelihood scores corresponding to the plurality ofexpanded candidate phrases; and display, based on the ranking, one ormore expanded candidate phrases of the plurality of expanded candidatephrases for user selection.